To conclude

Breeding dogs is a very unique experience. I really enjoyed it, but I am not looking forward to do it again sometime. I would like to do it again when I have A LOT of free time, there I would really love to breed many puppies, expecially golden retrievers.

I love my puppies. I hope they are in a good home. I would like to make a reunion party after 1 or 2 years to see them all again. That would be lovely, and impossible.

Fito, the 2 month old male pup. 

Lilo needs a little help. 

All pups trying to drink water. 

All pups want to go out to play 

Kansas and their pups looking really tired. The pups in this picture are 1 and half month old 

All the pups and their lovely colours! 

Bibliography

This are all the sources I refer to in the previous posts:

seeFIDO (2006) "Dog delivery (whelping)", seeFIDO, http://www.seefido.com/html/dog_-_puppy_delivery__whelping.htm, 6 January 2006

topgoldenretrieversites.net (2006) "Did you know", Top Golden Retriever Sites, http://www.topgoldenretrieversites.net/, 6 January 2006

Lee, E. (2001) "Re: Why does it take my dog two months to have puppies and a human 9 months?", http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/
jan2001/980868940.Dv.r.html, MadSci Network, 6 January 2006

crazyforDOGS (2000) "Celebrating Your Dog", Crazy for dogs, http://www.crazyfordogs.com/glossary/glossary.shtml, 6 January 2006

Yahoo! Pets (2005) "Tips Archive", http://pets.yahoo.com/pets/dogs/tip-previous, Yahoo!, 6 January 2006

SGRR (2006) "Golden Facts", http://www.sgrr.org/goldenfacts.htm, Sooner Golden Retriever Rescue, 6 January 2006

Dog Names! (2006) "20 most popular male and female dog names", http://www.geocities.com/dog_names/
most_popular_dog_names.html, Dog Names!, 6 January 2006

pedigree.com (2005) "Parenting your puppy", http://www.pedigree.com/PedigreeCenter/Articles/
Relationship/Dog+care+tips/Parenting+your+puppy.asp?FILTER=Puppy, The Pedigree Center, 6 January 2006

Brotherton, M. (2006) "Bathing your Puppy", http://www.petbitsforyou.com/bathing.html, Pet bits for you, 6 January 2006

AbsolutelyGolden.com (2005) "Grooming Your Golden Retriever", http://www.absolutelygolden.com/
golden_retriever_grooming.htm, AbsolutelyGolden.com, 6 January 2006

eHow (2005) "How to Select a Golden Retriever", http://www.ehow.com/how_8327_select-golden-retriever.html, eHow, 6 January 2006

Shipman, G. (2004) "So You Want a Golden...", http://www.dmgrc.org/Own%20a%20Golden.htm, Des Moines Golden Retriever Club, 6 January 2006

Welton, M. (2000) "A Golden Retriever For You ", http://www.yourpurebredpuppy.com/
buying/goldenretrievers.html, You Purebred Puppy, 6 January 2006

Adams, J (2000) "Feeding Your Puppy", http://www.rspcansw.com.au/Templates/Story
Template_Process.cfmspecie=Dogs&story_no=33, RSPCA, 6 January 2006

dogbreedinfo.org (2006) "Golden Retriever", http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/goldenretriever.htm, Dog Breed Info Center, 8 January 2006

One puppy

I have only been left with one puppy. Yes, with Fito. He is very cute and playful. He bites everything, since he is in the stage where he needs to bite something all the time. It was very hard to convince my parents to keep Fito, since having a puppy at home means destruction.

Fito is still at the puppy stage. However, he does not drink collustrum anymore, so I buy him puppy food. The quantity and the time of the meals should be considered "puppies should have 3 or 4 small meals a day until 3 months of age, then 2 meals a day until 6 to 12 months of age, depending on breed" (Adams, 2000). The quantity is stated in the food's packet. Usually is 3 cups a day.

Puppies meals must be controlled "Take care not to feed your puppy whenever and however much it likes. Obese puppies grow into obese dogs and are at risk of serious diseases such as diabetes. Large and giant breed puppies can develop bone defects if they grow too fast and it is essential to control their daily portions" (Adams, 2000).

Fact of the day: The fact that golden retrievers like to retrieve objects with their mouth can bring advantages. Golden retrievers need to do daily exercise so that they don't go obecese. Therefore you can play and exercise as well fairly easily with your golden retriever by playing games such as throwing and retrieving the ball (dogbreedinfo.org, 2006).

For the ones who missed the opportunity

Selling the puppies was a hard task because they were all female and they didn't have any pedigree. For the price I was giving them, it was a very excellent offer. This is for the ones who missed the opportunity of acquiring these precious golden female puppies:

• Dr. Herm David, Ph.D. says: "The AKC has an infinite supply of numbers. It's a good business to be in." (Welton, 2000). The AKC are just registration papers which register the puppy which parents were registered before. My puppies did not have any registration papers, and this is not necessary at all because this is just a waste of money. Pedigree is also unnecessary, since it is just a family tree. What do you need a family tree for? to see if he is purebred?
• "Registration papers don't suggest quality in a dog "(Welton, 2000).
• A dog can be purebred without having any registration paper and also there is a possibility that a non-purebred dog has fake registration papers "Always remember that GENES make a dog purebred. The presence or absence of registration papers doesn't change the genes inside a dog. He can be purebred without having papers -- and sadly, he can have papers without really being purebred" (Welton, 2000).
• ONLY acquire a puppy with pedigree if you are going to breed him in the future. Pedigree watches that you don't breed dogs which are closely related (Welton, 2000).
• Female puppies give benefits "Female dogs tend to be quicker to learn and are not as easily distracted during training sessions" (Welton, 2000). On the other hand, "Male dogs have obvious genitals, which can make for embarrassing moments if they become aroused or decide to lick themselves" (Welton, 2000).

Thought of the day: Female dogs aren't a bad choice. So why people prefer males? They have almost the same number of benefits and female dogs have less disadvantages. However, we unfortunately still live in the same society which will not change.

Goodbye puppies!

After my puppies were about 1.5 months, they started to go to their new homes. It was a sad moment for me.

Each buyer did not wanted to pay the price we set at the beginning. We then had to decrease the price, until it was a very good price hard to ignore. Few people tried to negotiate, and we had to of course accept their offer, since no one else would be interested. Overall, I think the puppies were sold for a good price, and it benefited most to the buyer than to me ;).

Each new owner had to reckon the weight of responsibility of having a golden retriever at home. These are the things we said to the owners:

• These dogs are very loyal and good companions. They love to play with children and they are not aggressive (eHow, 2006).
• These dogs can easily be trained because they try very hard to please the owner (ehow.com, 2006).
• These dogs are very social to both humans and other animals (eHow, 2006).
• These dogs are expected to grow very big and "reach a height of 21 to 24 inches at the shoulder and weigh around 55 to 65 pounds" (eHow, 2006).

At the end, all the puppies went to their new home before they reached 2 months old. I am going to miss them very much :'( . I hope these people take good care of them! This is how the new owners looked like:

• Abby was the first puppy to leave. She was very calm, and that is what most of the owners want from a dog. A family consisting of both parents and a one year old son took her. This family never had any dogs before, so I hope they can take good care of her.
• Pucca went with her father, Chester. However, Chester's owner sold her afterwards.
• Goldice went with a man who looked rich, since he had a fancy pick up with a driver. He said he had a big land and that he wanted to give her daughter a puppy to play with her.
• Lilo went to a friend from my sister, whose previous dog died in an accident.
• Nala went to a very happy family. The children believed in Santa Claus and though that the puppy was a present from him.
• Cinnamon went to a family that live in Santa Ana. I hope that golden retrievers spread in that area! However, I am very worried since this family had previously a dog, which died maybe because they did not take good care of him.
• Lana went to a friend from my sister's friend. She is a dog lover, so I feel relieved.

Tip of the day: Choosing the right golden retriever is very important, since they are going to be your companion for the next 10 to 15 years (Shipman, 2006). The puppy must be in good shape and healthy.

Puppy care - washing and grooming

Washing and grooming 9 puppies was the most exhausting and tiring tasks I have ever done! My puppies play in y garden all the time, and that is where they get muddy and dirty. Special care and treatment should be considered, since puppies are very delicate. I followed tips from the internet in order to do this. Some of the tips are:

1. Buy your puppy a shampoo specially for dogs. Human shampoo is not recommended, since dogs and humans do not have the same pH level balance (Brotherton, 2005)
2. Warm water should be used for washing your puppy. Puppies and dogs are very sensitive to heat, so warm for you means hot for them. (Brotherton, 2005)
3. Always wash your puppies head at last. This is because when the puppies head is wet, their automatic response is shaking their whole body. Therefore, after washing the puppy's body, wrap the puppy with a towel and then wash his head. (Brotherton, 2005)
4. After washing and drying your puppy, brush him with a brush for dogs. (absolutelygolden.com, 2005)
5. Don't bathe your puppy too often. Dogs have oils on their coats which protects them. Washing your dog too often will was away these oil. (absolutelygolden.com, 2005)

Grooming is also difficult and this difficulty increases as your dog grows. Golden retrievers are a breed in which special grooming should be taken. You should groom your dog by brushing his coat with a Oval Porcupine Bristle Brush. You should also cut your dog's fingers if they grow to long by using dog nail clippers. Golden retrievers never have to be shaved. Their hair protects them from the weather and temperature.

Products for dog grooming are available at pet stores and websites. http://www.absolutelygolden.com/ offers a variety of items for golden retriever grooming.

Tip of the day: Golden retrievers are a double coated breed. They require a lot of care with their hair since they shed it everywhere. Brush your golden often, so it can make both your dog and you happy.

Puppy care - Obedience

Puppy care is an exhausting task. However, numerous amounts of websites offer tips and advises in order to give your puppy the best care.

We all want our puppies to be obedient. To do this, you need to teach him how. You need to start by giving him/her basic obedience such as no biting inappropriate objects, no barking and listening to the command "sit". The best tip for following this is this "The key to training your pup is to realize that he really does want to please you. Praise and reward your puppy for appropriate behaviour and use a stern “No” when you wish to correct his behavior" (pedigree.com, 2005).

In conclusion, dog obedience is not only important and beneficial for you, it is also a essential key for a healthy dog's life. It is cool and awesome to see a dog responding to your commands. Don't give up in teaching your dog the correct ways. If you give up, you can hire people who are dedicated into dog training. They'll do the job for you.

Fact of the day: "Golden Retrievers are: known for carrying things in their mouth (after all, they are a retriever!)" (SGRR, 2005). Therefore, buy your golden retriever some toys for chewing, so that they do not chew things that you don't want them to chew. It is essential to teach them what they can bite and what they can't if you don't want a disaster.

The pups

As I said before, 9 pups were born alive.

They are now identify by wearing a ribbon around their necks. Each ribbon has a different colour for each pup. The following list shows the colour of the ribbon and the name of the puppy wearing it:

• Red - Miena
• Blue - Fito (the only male puppy)
• Yellow - Goldice
• Dark green - Lana
• Light green - Lilo
• Magenta - Nala
• Pink - Abby
• Orange - Cinnamon
• Purple - Pucca

Thinking names for female dogs wasn't easy. I didn't name one in particular, I just agreed in the ones my sisters were saying. Anyway we put the dogs "temporary" names because we didn't like the idea that the dogs should be identify by the colour of their ribbon.

Fact of the day: The most popular dog name in NYC in 2004 was Max, followed by Lucky, Princess, Rocky and Buddy (Dog Names!, 2005). From my puppies' name list only Abby was one of the most popular ones. Abby is in the 8th place from the most popular female dog names list (Dog Names!, 2005). This means that most of the names I have given to my puppies are quite rare and unique.

The father

The puppies' father is called Chester. Chester is a smart golden retriever. I actually haven't seen him, but I would like to meet him. The one who knows Chester is my sister, which made the all the arrangements with Chester's owner, who is a friend from hers. They have told me that Chester is tall and big, his hair is slightly reddish and his mother worked as a trained dog that looks for hidden bombs.

Chester has a pedigree. A pedigree is defined as "The written record of a pure-bred dogs ancestry (lineage)" (crazyfordogs, 2005). Chester is slightly younger than Kansas, about one month younger.

The puppies where conceived at his home. Well, at the beginning we though Kansas didn't get pregnant, since she stayed at Chester's for only 4 days. I thought that they were not enough days because she was still in her heat phase (that is when she is still dropping blood from her vulva (seeFIDO, 2005)).

However, after one month, we noticed she was getting fatter. We took her to the veterinarian to see if she was successfully pregnant. The veterinarian made her a ultrasound test and she was pregnant indeed! Wohooo! What a joy! However, he couldn't determine how much puppies were going to born. I hat to do another test to find it out, but those tests were very expensive so I took it as a secret that was going to be revealed until the birth date.

This is how the story of the dogs began. These are the first puppies for both Kansas and Chester. We counted the day when the puppies will probably born. Normally the pregnancy lasts 2 months. So the birth date would be between 4th-8th of November.

When Kansas's reached her last week as pregnant, we could feel the puppies kicking. It felt like a miracle. It was also a sign indicating that the puppies were coming soon.

Tip of the day: A large breed pup stops being a puppy until he is 2 years old. This is is due to the slow growing rate of large breed dogs. They mature slower than smaller breed dogs. If pups weight more than 50 pounds, consult a veterinarian for applying a diet on your dog. (Yahoo! Pets, 2005)

Fact of the day: A dog's pregnancy time (gestation) lasts for 2 months. This is very different compared to human gestation time (9 months) because gestation time varies across species. Gestation time and life expectancy of species are very similar. Dogs get to live between 15-20 years average and humans about 72 years average (Lee, 2001).

The beginning of a story

To begin this blog, I want you all to meet my puppies!

They were born in the 7 November 2005. The delivery time was long and very difficult. It was from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm. A total of 11 puppies were inside my lovely dog Kansas. Each of the puppies got out from her womb every 30 minutes. I was very sorry that I could not attend from the beginning of the delivery to help on her because I was at school. When I returned from a long day of school at 4:00, I saw one dead puppy and I was shocked. Oh my God, the puppies are coming to the world! But what happened to this unconscious puppy? Then I rushed to the study room where Kansas was delivering and I saw 2 puppies alive and healthy next to my dad. My sister was helping in the delivery. I was surprised and excited at the same time. Then I saw Kansas and she was quite tired and stressed but she didn't stop licking a puppy next to her which was just born. "She's dead" my sister said "Retire her while she is not looking, and put it next to the one which is outside. So far, there's two dead ones". I then retired the dead puppy silently without Kansas's knowledge.

I returned to the study room to assist the rest of the delivery. Delivering was good and a unique experience. I was previously prepared by reading websites such as http://www.seefido.com/html/dog_-_puppy_delivery__whelping.htm. They taught me what to do and gave me some tips such as "By general rule, female dogs eat placentas, which is a normal conduct. Normally, the mother will bite the umbilical cordon if the puppy retains his connection with the placenta"(seefido.com, 2005). I wouldn't know that before reading that, and I would thought that my dog was crazy because she is eating placentas. I still remember the palcentas's smell and how hurtful it looked when my dog was biting the umbilical chord, which according to the website, this is normal behaviour.

The puppies rested and drank colostrum after the birth. They slept next to their mummy in the study room, so she could keep them warm "Puppies sleep together at the beginning, to preserve body heat, gradually separating as their capacity of thermo regulation develops" (seefido.com, 2005). I counted 9 puppies alive, and 2 dead. So that forms an eleven-football team. I was so happy. However I was quite disappointed, since there was one male puppy and the rest were female puppies. Female ones are difficult to sell, since people prefer male puppies. The ones that were dead were a male and a female. The dead male was the first one to be born, and I could observe that he was the biggest one. Is a shame that they died.

Fact of the day: "Golden Retrievers are trained for search & rescue, arson detection, drug detection, therapy dogs, hearing dogs, guide dogs for the blind, and handicap assistance dogs. Not to mention outstanding hunting and personal companions" (topgoldenretrieversites.net, 2005). Therefore, there is no reason why anyone wouldn't want a nice golden retriever.